What to Expect From a Personal Training Session

Think of a personal trainer as your guide to fitness. This person sets up your workout routine, gives you exercise instruction, and ultimately helps you achieve your goals. That sounds great, but what can you expect when you show up? Here is a breakdown of what it’s like working with a personal trainer:

Getting Started

Before stepping into action, your trainer is going to have you fill out some paperwork. While not the most exciting part of starting a new program, it’s necessary for determining the most appropriate training plan for you.

Our intake process helps to develop a program unique to you. A health history form gives your trainer a background of any restrictions or injuries you have, and they will use this information to create a safe plan tailored to you. A goals form or questionnaire may have you list your prior exercise experience, as well as what you are hoping to achieve.

Day One

Once you’ve sat down with your trainer and they know more about you, you’re ready for your first session. You should expect to do a general warmup to start. This warmup includes band work, upper body mobility, and lower body mobility to assist in engaging certain muscles prior to a workout. Some trainers may add their own tweaks, but the overall idea is to prepare your body for more tasking exercises.

After your warmup, your trainer may have you complete a series of movements including squats, hip hinges, and rotations. This gives them a chance to see how you perform the movements you will be using in future workouts.

Expect to keep it simple on the first day. Your personal trainer isn’t going to have you completing any crazy jumps or jerks. This session is for instruction and ensuring you can complete movements safely, as well as establishing a starting point for trainer to create your plan.

Diving In

Your personal trainer will have everything planned out and ready to go before your workout.
Programs will vary on your goals and the way your gym is structured. Oftentimes, your trainer will setup training blocks for scheduling your routine. A training block is a plan your trainer builds specifically for you based around your goals and current capabilities, which serves as the central thesis or theme and is supported by each of your individual workouts.

The routine might include exercises that build total body strength, or it might narrow down specific areas you’d like to focus on. After your training block ends, your trainer will shake things up by introducing new exercises or making modifications to your current ones. Your new training block prevents plateauing, while still focusing on the areas you need.

Get The Most Out Of Your Training

There’s no reason to be nervous about starting a personal training program. With an established personal trainer, you’re in good hands.

You can take steps to get the most out of your training. Trainers like if you show up a bit early to do some foam rolling and take the time at the end of your workout for static stretching. These are two simple ways to improve your training experience.

Never try to push through any type of injury, and if anything is bothering you, make sure to let them know. Your trainer is happy to change it up and incorporate different exercises into your routine. Their goal is for you to be comfortable, so you can achieve your own goals.